# I Got Destroyed!!!



## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Alright Bryan, (Contrabass Bry) you got me! :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:I was the designated NPS in the newbie sampler thread. Got a package in the mail today.......










Bryan hit me with a sampler of 12 types of baccy!!!










-McClelland #5100 (Red Cake)
-Rattray's Old Gowrie
-McClelland GO:Classic Samsum - More than 5 years old.
-H&H Anniversary Cake - 
-McClelland #2015 (Virgina Flake)
-Former's Straight Grain Flake - 
-Balkan Sasieni - 
-Esoterica Tobacciana Penzance -
-Solani Sweet Mystery X -
-McClelland #2035 (Dark Navy flake) 
-Esoterica Tobacciana Tilbury
-Dunhill Royal Yacht










As a complete newb to pipe tobacco i was amazed at how some of these differ so much. This McClelland dark navy is craaaazy dark! and the Esoterica Tobacciana Penzance smells like non-other!!










^^ Hearth and Home Anniversary Kake. Love the look of that! Well im very excited to be able to sit down and smoke these with no problems! tomorrow morning ill get to a nice bowl of McClelland #5100. Well bryan ya done good! Im sure all have tons of questions. Im very excited to join you all on the other side of the slope!! :first:


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## WyldKnyght (Apr 1, 2011)

Damn that's a nice hit... Congrats :banana: :banana: :banana:


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

An impressive array of tobacco choices! Excellent!! (Nice shot, Bryan!)


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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

Very cool! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these.


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## Natedogg (Jun 21, 2010)

And now I have a list of stuff to NOT send you in the MAW. That'll help me out.

Nice sampler there!


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Natedogg said:


> And now I have a list of stuff to NOT send you in the MAW. That'll help me out.
> 
> Nice sampler there!


haha. thank you, it is quite exquisite.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Those are nice! I've only ever tried the Penzance, probably my favorite tobacco in my short smoking history, Anniversary Kake, also very good, and Tilbury, got a sample and liked it enough to grab a tin. If the others are half as good, you are in fine shape. Honestly, I've read great things about several of them.


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## NoShhhSherlock (Mar 30, 2011)

Lol, that is a nice box of tobacco you got there!


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## canadianpiper (Nov 27, 2010)

Thats a great haul. tons of good stuff to smoke.


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## Blue_2 (Jan 25, 2011)

Excellent sampler there. Definitely let us know what you think!


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Will do! I bought 2 new MM cobs on eBay this morning for cheap. This will allow me to try a whole bunch since I only have one pipe now.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

I have two cobs and a third on the way. Good idea adding them to the rotation!


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

I see some of my favorites there. Great sampler and you are off to a great start!


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## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

welcome to the game.


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## laloin (Jun 29, 2010)

well your doomed now, Contrabass gave you a shove down the other slope with both hands enjoy the baccy 
troy


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## Contrabass Bry (May 3, 2010)

Just treating folks the way I've been treated since I came on board to Puff!

I've been a little off my game as of late...
That bag labled McClelland #2035 may or may not be some 5yr old Dark Star. I'll have to take a test run and let you know.

I've been rather impressed with the deliciousness of the Classic Samsun. It's a tin I picked up that had an '05 date stamp. Nothing like aged tobacco!

Enjoy!


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## Rock31 (Sep 30, 2010)

Very nice baccy bomb!


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## Max_Power (Sep 9, 2010)

Bryan sent me some of those in my NST as well; The Dark Navy Flake was incredible I thought.

Nice stuff, hope you enjoy them.


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Contrabass Bry said:


> Just treating folks the way I've been treated since I came on board to Puff!
> 
> I've been a little off my game as of late...
> That bag labled McClelland #2035 may or may not be some 5yr old Dark Star. I'll have to take a test run and let you know.
> ...


I will enjoy!


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Ok so I finally had some McClelland. That stuff does taste good!!....when it's lit. Let's see if you fine BOTLs can help me out. I used the three pack method and the draw was, eh, about the draw of a cigar. I did the false light, then relit, trying to light everything especially the circumference. I just finished doing it so it was a little dark outside so I could tell exactly where the cherry was. I was never able to get the circumference lit. I tried but it just wouldn't light (oh also, before I smoked I let the baccy sit on a paper towel for 45 min just in case). So most of the time I would get a nice cherry in the middle, but I would literally go out within 5 seconds!!!! The longest I kept it lit was 60 seconds. I would also put my thumb over the top to help air move faster over the ember. So what do y'all think? My thoughts were either it's not staying lit bc I packed it too loose/tight or I couldn't get the edges lit. 
Thanks Bryan! You were right about this McClelland! Now I just need to perfect my smoking!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

dirletra said:


> I used the three pack method and the draw was, eh, about the draw of a cigar.


Sounds too tight. Try a Frank fill, a bit lighter.


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## Natedogg (Jun 21, 2010)

Yeah. Cigars are also hit and miss on the draw sometimes, but it should be like drinking through a straw.

I have an article coming that talks about this a bit.


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

A straw huh? Yea it was definitely tighter than that. I'll have to give that a go. I'll look into the frank as well. Can't wait to get those cobs in so I can smoke more than once a day and try to wrk on this.


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## Natedogg (Jun 21, 2010)

Yeah, you only want a little resistance. And while you are smoking, don't be afraid to use the tamper at the first sign of it going out. Use it as much as you need to. Don't tamp too hard though because you could tamp it out and you could also end up packing it too tight.


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Very good. I kept wondering if it would be ok to tamp, but I guess in my case that would've only made it tighter.


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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

I tamp a couple times throughout the bowl. It keeps the ember touching the unburnt tobacco!


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## Natedogg (Jun 21, 2010)

When I was learning the pipe, I made it my goal to figure out how to avoid relights. I hate relights, the flavor is just too ashy for me. So I figured out the art of tamping on my own and I only have to relight now if I have a pipe in my mouth when I'm doing stuff around the house and I forget my tamping ritual.

Think of tamping like you are stoking a fire with a poker. Tamping gets the unburnt tobacco closer to the ember (or the ember closer to the unburnt).

If you pack the pipe and it's too tight, don't be afraid to empty it and re-pack it. Better to re-pack before it's lit than to find out after it's lit that you can't enjoy the bowl.


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Does it help to inhale while tamping or is that not necessary? After hearing you talk about walking around without relighting, I'm really eager to get to that point.


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## Natedogg (Jun 21, 2010)

Nope. I usually tamp with the pipe in one hand and the tamper in the other. Like I say, it doesn't take much of a tamp. Just a little push. If there's too much ash, it may feel like you need to push harder. Just use your tamper to loosen up some ash and dump that ash off, then re-try your tamp.

Once you get it down, you won't even think about it. Like with your question, you really made me think about how I tamp!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Natedogg said:


> Nope. I usually tamp with the pipe in one hand and the tamper in the other. Like I say, it doesn't take much of a tamp. Just a little push.


Tamping is a neglected (and thoroughly underrated) pipe smoking skill. I almost always draw on the pipe while tamping, since the purpose of the tamping is to keep it lit and I don't want to snuff out the ember while I'm doing it. If it's already out I don't, obviously.

A wooden tamper works better for me than a metal one, but I guess that merely makes me eccentric. I feel I have some justification for using one, rather it being merely a contrivance, since that's what they hand out at slow smoke competitions. I got to using wooden tampers after seeing a photo of a "competition tamper" once, with G.L. Pease stamped on it. I have small ones, 2x3/8" and large ones 4x1/2" that are here and there. The small ones I carry in my pocket when I'm out and use on the cobs, the big ones on the full size pipes. The little ones are quite serviceable for the big pipes, actually.


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## Contrabass Bry (May 3, 2010)

I too will continue to draw while tamping. This makes it obvious if you are affecting the airflow (ie. tamping to hard). The amount of pressure should really only be enough to crush the ash, any more than that and you'll either snuff the cherry or compact the tobacco more than you want.

If it's burning unevenly, then more than likely it's an issue with your fill (variance in consitency of the tobacco). Try the gravity fill with some taps on the bowl to settle, like I suggested. You should get better results. 

Like other's have stated, you can easily make it tighter once it's lit via the tamp. Making it looser, not so much.

Keep at it, you figure stuff out...


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## Natedogg (Jun 21, 2010)

Agreed. You figure out what works for you. We are just giving you suggestions to help you on your way. You will find you tweak them to your liking.


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

ok cool! i'll give it a try shortly.


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Well i made progress!!! i kept it lit for 4-5 minutes which is a huge accomplishment for me! i was wondering how often you all puff? i know with a cigar, its customary to puff about once a minute. It seems like it should be much more frequent with a pipe? Also when you all smoke, are the edges just as lit as the center? im having trouble even getting the cherry to the circumference. Thanks!


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Also i just got my 2 MM cobs in the mail from ebay!!! now i can smoke thrice a day! haha. they came with 'silver screens'. what are those? do i need to leave the filters in?


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Sounds like you're improving. I'm still a noob, but I tend to use the pipe nail to clean up/push the tobacco around the edges and move it towards the center to keep the thing burning evenly.


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## Contrabass Bry (May 3, 2010)

Glad you got them, now take out any screens and filters. Proceed as usual...

Puffing cadence can vary. I linger around 15 sec between sips. More frequently if I'm trying to stoke it up. Always let the smoke be your guide. If it feels hot or steamy, it's time to throttle back set it down for awhile.

The burn pattern should be relatively even, but it will mostly burn down in a inverted cone shape. The harder you draw, the steeper this cone's angle gets. Another reason to sip gently. You can always let it go out, then on the relight, you'll catch all the unburnt around the edges. Or you can use a pick to loosen the ash in the center, then do as BrewShooter suggested and move the unburnt back to the center and relight.

For me, using a tamp or finger when filling the pipe will tend to make the tobacco more compact against the sides. This also contributes to an uneven burn.

The initial lighting will have a big influence on the burn that follows. Since the natural tendancy is for the burn to migrate towards the middle, it is most important to make sure the extreme edges are lit from the get-go...

Congratulations on your progress!


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Thanks!! That all makes sense! Im excited to try more samples now that i got the pipes in today!!


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

I tried all ur suggestions. I got it burning for ten minutes straight!! Woohoo! I made sure that thr first light was perfect and everythng was lit. If i noticed the smoke getting lighter i would tamp and inhale until the ember got goin a little more! I still have yet to smoke completely down to the bottom, its also hard to light when such few tobacco is in there cause it heats up rather quick when at the bottom. I smoked my new cob for the first time with McClelland GO in it. I have to say I'm gettin hooked!!


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## laloin (Jun 29, 2010)

what I found out with packing a pipe, if it's too lose you can always tamp down a bit to tighten the bowl up, where as if it's packed too tight, you won't be able to keep the bowl lite. 
here what I do, once I've packed the bowl I draw on the pipe to see if it's a clean draw and not trying to suck eggs through a straw, if your getting to much resisted, you've packed it too tight. better a bit loose and some resistence, then too tight and trying to hard to draw.
makes sense heheh
troy


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

dirletra said:


> I tried all ur suggestions. I got it burning for ten minutes straight!! Woohoo! I made sure that thr first light was perfect and everythng was lit. If i noticed the smoke getting lighter i would tamp and inhale until the ember got goin a little more! I still have yet to smoke completely down to the bottom, its also hard to light when such few tobacco is in there cause it heats up rather quick when at the bottom. I smoked my new cob for the first time with McClelland GO in it. I have to say I'm gettin hooked!!


Sounds like you're getting there. I find smoking to the very bottom is still difficult for me and I do have to relight every once in a while, but that's common. What I need to practice is slowing down.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

BrewShooter said:


> What I need to practice is slowing down.


"Slow down" is so often interpreted as slowing the time between puffs, whereas for me it is the matter of slowing down the speed of the airflow through the pipe -- longer, slower, gentler pulls on the pipe. Think of a starting a campfire (probably not something people are too familiar with these days, but...). A bunch of short puffs doesn't cut it. Blow too hard and the flame blows out, sparks scatter, the lit area blows apart and it goes out completely. Continuous, smooth streams of air into the place where the fire is starting make the flame grow and spread, or burst an ember back into flame.

The time between the beginning of each puff automatically becomes longer if each puff becomes longer and slower. Quick little puffs separated by long spaces of time don't get the job done.


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## dirletra (Apr 14, 2009)

Good analogy Jim.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Bouncin' this one over to the new home of Pipe and Tobacco Bombs.


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